Tristen Goetz

I have been told that my BA in ELAC and my law school JD make for an odd couple, but for me, I would never have done it any other way. Immersing yourself in foreign language learning gives you far more than just another tool for communication. Learning Mandarin got me comfortable with being uncomfortable. Sometimes as an adult language learner, you will forget the word for “pen-cap” and inevitably will need to tamp your ego down and ask your professor what “the pen’s little hat” is called again. Mandarin has taught me to have humility and kindness, not just towards myself but to others. The law is often just as daunting to people as staring down a page full of characters. With my clients, I strive to show the same level of care and flexibility in explaining new concepts as my professors in the Mandarin ELAC department had for me.

One of the things I miss the most from my time at KU is the Lunar New Year festival and events. I loved the time I got to spend with my classmates and the wider international-Chinese community in Lawrence. Being able to speak and laugh with native speakers outside the classroom for the first time was extremely memorable for me.

If you want to do it, do it. I often hear people say, “when are you going to use that?” as a way to discourage language learning. To that, I say learning a new language gives you so much more than ‘just’ new words. Studying in EALC is becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable and facing situations where you may not have all the right answers (yet). It is learning to make glorious mistakes and growing from them. It is training your brain to be flexible and tackle difficult problems in new and creative ways. These are transferable skills you will use for the rest of your life in any language.